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Eleven Days in Paradise
Author: Jeannette Winters


Eleven Days in Paradise

 

 

James

 

I had the life I wanted in the Marine Corp, until one accident changed it all. Choices needed to be made that there was no coming back from. I wasn’t thrilled with what my future held. I needed to make a new path for myself and it required calling in a few favors.

 

When I get to the island of Tabiq, what was promised isn’t what awaits me. Instead of being back in the action, I’m babysitting some stuffy lawyer who thinks she knows it all. She challenges every order I give her and worst than that, she does it with a smile on her face.

 

If she thinks she can break me with the sexy sway of her hips or her deep blue eyes, she was mistaken. I don’t do relationships and I sure as hell don’t fall in love. That didn’t mean I was opposed to spending some hot steamy nights under the moon in this paradise island.

 

Once again my life faces a crossroad. This time my path is clear. But do I want to take it alone or is this journey meant for two?

 

And the saga continues….

 

 

Chapter 1

 

 

James

 

 

“I don’t need a vacation. What I need is a job,” I snapped. We had served together in the Marines years ago, but Bennett Stone was a civilian now, just like me. “I’ve spent the last six months being told to rest, that I deserved time off. I’m going to lose my fucking mind if I sit around doing nothing any longer.” Playing golf and fishing got old quick. At least for me.

I knew Bennett was only trying to help, but he was missing the mark. Offering me a place to stay at New Hope Resort for two weeks felt too much like a handout. I wasn’t broke, far from it. Hell, being single and deployed overseas so long meant I hadn’t had the opportunity to blow all my money. I figured I’d be banking it all for retirement someday. Never thought I’d be using now.

Bennett said, “We can discuss both while you’re here.”

“I don’t see how a ten-hour flight to Tabiq is going to change anything,” I responded. “You’re either hiring or not.”

Bennett owned a top-tier corporate security company and he employed a lot of veterans. At least with Bennett’s crew, I’d be around people I could relate with and…trust.

“I like to conduct my interviews in person, James. Since I’m going to be in Tabiq for the next few weeks, your choice is fly here, or wait till I return to the States.”

Damn it. “Fine. I’ll book a flight and text you my arrival date.”

“The Henderson jet is flying out of Boston tomorrow morning. I suggest being on it,” Bennett stated.

I knew the Hendersons were heavily involved in Tabiq, a country with a reputation of instability. What I couldn’t figure out was what Bennett was doing there. The Hendersons were all big business. The only thing that made sense was Bennett was providing the security for his in-laws. God knows the Henderson needed it. Hopefully Bennett was bringing me to Tabiq for more than just an interview.

Maybe Bennett needs my help there. The sooner I’m back in the action the better.

“I’ll be there,” I said.

“Good. I’ll let the pilot know. When you arrive in Tabiq, a driver will be there to take you to New Hope Resort. Once you’re settled in, we’ll meet.” Bennett ended the call.

I looked at my phone, stunned. I can’t believe I agreed to fly to Tabiq without Bennett providing me any details. Fuck. I’m not desperate for a job, but it sure as hell sounded like it when I was talking to him.

I’d applied at several similar places and had been shot down. They hesitated hiring someone who’d just donated a kidney a few months earlier. The doctors had given me a clean bill of health, so it only pissed me off that potential employers didn’t see things the same way.

Running my hands through my grown-out hair, I closed my eyes and leaned back on the couch. I don’t have any regrets. I would do anything for the ones I love, and family is on top of that list. That’s why when I had received the call that my baby sister had been in a car accident a year ago, I freaked. It wasn’t just a fender-bender. The doctors had told them it was a miracle that Cindy was even alive. But the recovery hadn’t been easy for her and some things wouldn’t ever be normal again, like functioning kidneys.

I couldn’t let her spend the rest of her life on dialysis. Not when I had two good kidneys and I was a match. But that reality means I’m supposed to take better care of my one remaining kidney. But fuck, I’m not going to live in a bubble, not for anyone or anything.

My willingness to jet to Tabiq was a prime example that I wasn’t about to stay in Boston a second longer than necessary. But I couldn’t leave without seeing Cindy one last time. I knew she’d be okay with the awesome support system she had here. But for the last few months she’d been my focus. Without her and without the Marines, I wasn’t sure what was left for me. It felt like I had to redefine who I am, and I wasn’t sure going to meet with Bennett would provide the direction I needed.

I pulled my cell phone out and dialed Cindy’s number. As usual, I got her nauseatingly cheerful voicemail. I’ve told her a million times to change it, that she’s not sixteen anymore, but she refuses to budge. That girl is so stubborn. She’s so much like me.

When I heard the beep, I started my message. “Cindy, this is your big brother. Let’s get together and have lunch. I’m leaving town today and I’d like to see you.”

I ended the call. There was a 50/50 chance I’d hear back from her. She’d been hard to track down since she got home from the hospital. She was either with her friends, or at physical therapy. On one hand, I was glad she wasn’t sitting home in a pity party thinking, “Poor me, why me?” But I worried about her, too. Because we’re so much alike, I also know she’ll bury her pain. I don’t want that for her. Hell, I wish it wasn’t something that I did myself.

We all have something that haunts us. Cindy has her car accident and I am sure she often wonders what if? Those are the same things I face when I close my eyes at night and think about the last ten years in the Marine Corps. I know I’ve done what I was told. I’ve done the best I could. But the times that there was a loss of life weigh heavily on me. As I’m sure it does with each member of my team.

My team. I don’t have a team anymore.

I know I didn’t abandon them, but at times it sure as hell felt that way. We relied on each other. We knew our lives meant doing so. Each member of my team knew exactly what they needed to do, and if one person made the wrong move, the whole team could pay the price. And now I’m the missing piece.

I looked over the bottle of bourbon that was still sitting on the counter. I could have another glass. Hell, I could have the whole fucking bottle. Waking up with a hangover when I met with Bennett in the morning sure as hell wouldn’t be the way to see him again after all these years. I wasn’t out to impress him. If he was going to hire me it was for my skill, not my personality. And if I remembered right, he was an asshole too. Occupational hazard. At least that’s what I tell myself. My parents and siblings don’t accept it. Maybe that’s why I don’t visit as often as they would like. But I’d just spent six months in Boston with them. I needed a break, I needed distance.

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